NewCath clinches ninth consecutive district championship

G. Michael Graham Photo. Newport Cental Catholic offensive linemen Colin Hoover (60), Stephen Brooks (55) and Logan Neff (54) among others provide Jacob Smith (3) and the other skill players solid protection in Saturday's 41-0 win over Bishop Brossart.

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

TAYLOR MILL – The Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds and Bishop Brossart Mustangs have some great rivalries in many sports.

Football is not one of them mostly because NewCath is deeper and has had a program longer. The Thoroughbreds list about 60 players on their roster and have fielded a team every year since 1945. Brossart has just 21 players on its roster with two currently injured on a team that started varsity play in 2007.

That led to the third Thoroughbred Class 2A, District 6 shellacking in three straight years by a 41-0 count Saturday at Scott High. NewCath beat Brossart, 58-0 at the same location last year and 62-0 in 2011 for a grand total of 161-0 in the three meetings.

The Thoroughbreds (4-4 overall, 3-0 district) clinched their ninth straight district championship and 21st overall. They are 23-0 in district play since 2007. Brossart dropped to 2-5 and 0-4 and had already been eliminated from playoff contention entering the game.

Both teams ran spread offenses. But NewCath dominated the trenches and it showed in the statistics. The Thoroughbreds outgained the Mustangs, 364-62 in total offense.

“The speed of the game and the sizes of different people,” said Maleek Lawrence, NewCath sophomore offensive and defensive lineman when asked about adjusting from junior varsity and freshman to varsity football. “We just have to work hard every day. It’s about doing the same thing every day. Having the Blue (reserve) Team go against us every day makes us better.”

NewCath came out throwing the ball all over the field. Quarterback Mac Franzen completed 12-of-16 passes for 75 percent for 204 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions.

Several different receivers had catches for the Thoroughbreds. Brandon Gray led the way with five catches for 92 yards and two touchdowns. Teammate Tommy Donnelly followed with four catches for 62 yards.

“Mac (Franzen) has really improved on finding open receivers,” Gray said. “Basically, all we did all week was work to the ball. We did drills where Mac gets out of the pocket, scrambles and you move to the ball. That really helped. The coaches did a good job with that.”

That opened things up for the Thoroughbred running game. Sophomore Jacob Smith ran for 130 yards and three touchdowns all in the first half.

NewCath led 41-0 at halftime to force the running clock. That let the reserves play in a scoreless second half.

On the other side, Brossart quarterback Casey Pelgen found himself constantly pressured. He ran for 30 yards on 18 carries and completed just 2-of-14 passes for just 14 yards.

“We kind of expected we would (get pressure on Pelgin),” said Dan Wagner, NewCath Head Coach. “We got after (Pelgin) and did what we have to do. I think we’re making strides (in the lines). We’re so young. Their getting the idea and you can see improvement every week.”

Both teams lost three fumbles. Lawrence and Bryson Hightchew recovered fumbles for the Thoroughbreds.

Gray caught his first touchdown pass with 9:01 left in the first quarter before Michael Runyon caught a pass then broke a tackle before sprinting 50 yards for the touchdown with 6:41 left in the first quarter. The Thoroughbreds led 13-0 after their lone missed extra-point attempt of the game.

“It’s always critical when you make a big play,” said Dave Schneider, NewCath Offensive Coordinator. “It then takes less plays to score. I thought we did a nice job finding the open man and moved the ball. Mac played a nice ballgame. We still had some turnovers and penalties. We have to clean the mental mistakes up.”

The Thoroughbreds extended their lead to 20-0 after Smith broke free for a 64-yard score with 1:34 left in the half. Wyatt Boberg made 5-of-6 PATs on the evening.

NewCath added six more touchdowns in the second quarter. Smith scored on 10 and 14-yard runs and Gray scored his second touchdown on a 14-yard play.

Final District contest:

The Thoroughbreds conclude district play against Covington Holy Cross on Friday at 7 p.m. at Newport Stadium.

Holy Cross enters the contest struggling at 1-7 and 1-2 in district play. The Indians lost district contests to Newport and Lloyd Memorial in overtime. They dropped a 37-36 decision to Newport on Friday.

NewCath knows it must contain Holy Cross senior running back Jalen Beal. Beal rushed for 917 yards on 130 carries and 12 touchdowns in the first seven games for the Indians.

“The (Beal) kid is a special talent,” Wagner said. “We saw a pretty good back to start the year in (Ashland Blazer’s Quentin Baker). I think this is the best kid we’ve seen all year by far. I sat and watched tape. Conner couldn’t contain him. We have our work cut out for us.”

NewCath holds an all-time record of 18-2 against Holy Cross. The two schools have combined to win the last three Class 2A titles.